Africa urged to add value to commodities to unlock billions

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Africa is losing billions of dollars by exporting raw materials instead of processed goods, the Ghana International Bank (GHIB) has warned, urging policymakers and financiers to rethink commodity trade to strengthen the continent’s economies.

Speaking at the GHIBCONVERGE 2025 Forum held in London last month, GHIB Chief Executive Officer Dean Adansi said Africa’s export profile has barely shifted in decades, with just 14% of goods leaving the continent as value-added products.

“We are sitting on untapped billions in export revenues because we continue to export raw cocoa instead of chocolate, raw gold instead of refined bullion, and raw cashew instead of processed kernels,” Adansi told delegates.

The meeting, themed “Rethinking Commodity Finance for Growth,” brought together central bankers, financiers, and commodity executives to chart strategies for reversing the trend.

Central bankers push for local refining

Buah Saidy, the Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, said processing commodities at source would strengthen African currencies and boost reserves.

“For too long, Africa’s commodity wealth has been exported in its rawest form, leaving value and jobs offshore,” he said.

Ghana’s First Deputy Governor Zakaria Mumuni emphasised gold refining as a way to hedge against global volatility.

“This is about building stability into our reserves and ensuring that Ghanaians benefit more directly from the resources we own,” he added.

Resources as bargaining chips

GHIB board member and former UK minister Lord Paul Boateng told the forum that Africa must recognise the geopolitical power of its resources.

“Critical minerals, cocoa, and gold, because these are not just export lines in a trade ledger. They are bargaining chips in a changing global order,” he noted, pointing to rising demand for battery metals.

Partnerships and recognition

The forum also saw GHIB announce a partnership with Vista Bank to scale up trade finance across West Africa. Meanwhile, Edmund Poku, the CEO of Niche Cocoa Industry Ltd., received the inaugural Trader of the Year Award for expanding local cocoa processing into global markets.

Adansi closed the forum with a call for joint action: “The transformation will not be led by governments alone or by the private sector alone. It requires a coalition of committed actors who see beyond short-term margins to long-term wealth creation for Africa.”